Aurora magazine

Smoking marijuana in pregnancy triples the risk of premature childbirth and child weight at birth. This is revealed by a study by the Lawson Health Research Institute, Western University and the University of Brescia. The herb joins the other two substances to avoid in pregnancy for excellence, nicotine and alcohol. All future mothers know how dangerous it is to smoke and drink alcohol during pregnancy. Nonetheless, some women use marijuana to relieve discomforts such as morning sickness.

According to the study, this habit is one of the main causes of underweight at birth. Other risk factors are chronic hypertension and amphetamines. The study analyzes underweight and / or premature babies in Canada between February 2009 and February 2014. Smaller weights weighing less than 2.5 kg and / or were born before 37 weeks of gestation. 15.6% of mothers had smoked in pregnancy, causing 6.4% of underweight births and 9.7% of premature births. The data are comparable to those reported by the Canadian Institute for Health Information between 2010 and 2011.

The Institute reported that 6.6% of Canadian infants were born underweight and 8.1% were born in advance. The Canadian study attributes to marijuana a serious impact on the health of the child, greater than the socio-economic context. Nonetheless, there is a Jamaican study that shows exactly the opposite. According to these researchers, pregnant marijuana is harmless to the fetus and will improve its future relational abilities.

The authors of the Canadian study believe however that the Jamaican study does not give enough weight to factors that might counteract the effect of marijuana. The effects of marijuana on the fetus are still unclear and further studies will be needed. It is therefore good for pregnant women to pay attention to the use of certain substances. It is also always advisable to follow a prenatal screening path, which will highlight any problems.

Source: medicaldaily.com

A study at the University of Montreal reveals that certain antibiotics increase the risk of spontaneous abortion. Under accusation there are macrolides, quinolones, tetracyclines, sulphonates and metronidazole. Penicillins and cephalosporins are more secure, however. Discovery could affect the updating of guidelines on how to deal with pregnancy infections. It is also another indication of how important it is to moderate the intake of antibiotics.

Dr. Muanda and colleagues analyzed pregnancy data between January 1998 and December 2009. The study is still ongoing and is affecting all women covered by Quebec's public health insurance plan. The researchers focused on patients between the ages of 15 and 45, affected by spontaneous abortion before the 20th week. For each case, they also identified 10 subjects of the same age and with the same characteristics to be used as control.

Exposure to antibiotics was at least 1 prescription during gestation. Of the 182,369 pregnancies analyzed, 8,702 (4.7%) ended with spontaneous abortion around the 14th week. The control group included 87,020 pregnancies. The researchers found exposure to antibiotics in 12,446 (13%) cases, 1,428 of which ended with spontaneous abortion. Thus, 16.4% of spontaneous abortions among women exposed to antibiotics are spoken, against 12.6% of the control group.

Researchers have eliminated any possible alternative risk factors, so only the influence of antibiotics can be considered. The danger of antibiotic abuse for the health of the individual and the community is already known. This study only confirms this, also revealing how pregnant women need to pay more attention. During pregnancy it is advisable to undergo routine medical check-ups: prenatal screening tests such as fetal DNA test detect any chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus.

Source: medscape.com

The Magee-Womens Hospital physicians and Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed an app against the premature parts. The application is designed for the most difficult population bands to reach, thus providing them with affordable obstetric care.

Premature births are the main cause of prenatal death and permanent disability. In the US, 1 child in 10 is born before 37 weeks of gestation. Much prematurely affects African Americans and poor families. In fact, the bands of the population that follow less prenatal screening paths. In addition, many poor women do not have the opportunity to take care of themselves as they should.

Despite access to healthcare is a problem in the United States, about 86% of American adults own a smartphone. 20% of them have downloaded at least one pregnancy-related application in 2015. A few of them, however, have a scientific basis based on patient observation and supported by researchers.
Carnegie Mellon University scientists have combined their technical skills with Magee's medical skills. They interviewed and analyzed tests of 60 hospital patients, who specialize in high-risk pregnancies. They then provided women with a smartphone with the installed app. Participants have included you for 3 months gained weight, consumed alcohol, depression episodes, and other risk factors.

Women used the app on average every day and a half so that they could complete their daily tasks. Each time the application calculated the risk of premature delivery and gave advice on how to intervene. In cases of high-risk events such as domestic violence or attempted suicide, the app has sent a notice to the staff. In this way the doctors contacted the women and provided them with the necessary help.

Source: medicalxpress.com

An international study has analyzed the consumption of alcohol in pregnancy by over 7,000 women from 11 European countries. The most virtuous country is Norway, while the UK has the highest rate of women who drink while knowing they are pregnant. In each country, researchers used the same methods and criteria. In this way the data were comparable and a wider picture of the situation in Europe was obtained.

On average, 16% of women in the 11 countries drank when pregnancy was already over. The women who reported having drunk were largely mature, of high culture and laborers. Many of them had the smell of smoke before they became pregnant. Analyzing individual country statistics, the percentage rises to 28.5% in the UK and falls to 4.1% in Norway.

Why a marked difference between the UK and Norway? On average, British drink much more than Norwegians. Nonetheless, countries with similar alcohol consumption still have few pregnant women and intakes. Among them are for example Poland and France. There is therefore no correlation between percentages of drinkers in general and women who are pregnant. According to the authors of the study, information on the consequences of alcohol in pregnancy could be crucial.

Among women who claimed to have been pregnant, 39% consumed at least one unit of alcohol per month. In Italy, 7.8% of them even drank 1-2 units per week. It seems that Italian women who continue to drink during pregnancy drink much more than those in other countries. Again, information and national culture could play a key role.

The analysis included in the percentages even those who drank only 1-2 units of alcohol throughout pregnancy. However, it should be borne in mind that there is no minimum quantity under which pregnant alcohol is safe. It is therefore best to avoid alcohol in full. To protect the baby's health, it is good for mom to undergo prenatal screening tests such as fetal DNA test.

Source: fhi.no/en